Netflix’s Billionaire Island, directed by Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin is about two rival fishing families, the Meyers and the Langes who battle over Meyer-Fjordbruk to control the salmon farming industry. The drama and tension between these families show how ruthless and calculated people can become to get what they want in the business world, in this case, the salmon farming industry. It shows how people will go after money, power, and revenge—even if it means turning against their own family. So, without further ado, let’s explore the motives and ambitions of these people in Billionaire Island through our cast and character guide to see how questionable their loyalty is.
Spoilers Ahead
Julie Lange
Portrayed by Trine Wiggen, Julie Lange is very ambitious and cold-hearted because we see how from the very start Julie was focused to take over Meyer-Fjordbruk, which is a powerful salmon company as she wanted to become the dominant force in the industry. One of her first big moves was to go behind Gjert’s back by targeting his former lover Pia-Lill, who still held a grudge against him because he broke up with her. Julie knew exactly how to manipulate Pia-Lill by playing on her emotional scars to convince her to turn against Gjert, so you can imagine how Julie knew exactly what she was doing. Julie did not only target her business rivals but also her own family, because we have seen how she had no problem to betray her daughter, Amy, despite her loyalty. When Amy expected to become the chairperson of the family business in Marlax, Julie coldly handed that position to her business associate, Kjerschow, because Julie was more concerned to keep her powerful business partners happy than caring about her daughter’s feelings or recognizing her efforts. Also at the end, Julie’s manipulative nature came to light when she made the shocking decision to join forces with her long-time enemy, Gjert after she lost control over Meyer-Fjordbruk and her daughter outsmarted her and became the CEO of Meyer-Fjordbruk instead. Julie swallowed her pride and accepted Gjert’s offer and promised to help him take revenge on their own children. She knew that she could take back control this way and get what she had always wanted—Meyer-Fjordbruk and take revenge on her own daughter, who dared to turn against her.
Gjert Meyer
Gjert Meyer, played by Svein Roger Karlsen, starts the series as a proud, powerful man, only to face a heartbreaking betrayal by his business rival Julie Lange. As the founder of Meyer-Fjordbruk, Gjert built his empire from the ground up and took immense pride in his company’s legacy. However, Julie’s company, Marlax, had always been his main competitor, and his downfall began when Julie manipulated Pia-Lill, Gjert’s former lover, to gain control of a major part of Meyer-Fjordbruk and for that Gjert fell into depression. The worst betrayal, though, came from his own family when Gjert discovered that his daughter, Trine, and her husband, Eigil, had conspired against him to work with Marlax to bring him down. Despite everything he had done for them, they framed him by planting false evidence on his computer to make it seem like he was responsible for environmental damage, which led to his arrest. Gjert’s heartbreak had to happen when he saw his daughter celebrating with Amy at Marlax, but it was bound to happen, because Gjert had betrayed them first when he had earlier aligned with Amy, Julie’s daughter, to regain power and turned his back on Trine and Eigil, who had tried to help him. In a way, Gjert acted more like a businessman than a father, who prioritized revenge and power over his family. You can see this shift in his character at the end of the series too when, after Trine’s betrayal, he no longer saw her as his daughter, but as an enemy. And to seek revenge, he made the shocking decision to team up with Julie, his former rival. I think, in his mind, he may have thought that although Julie had betrayed him once, she was the only one who could help him destroy Trine and Eigil. So Gjert set aside his feud with Julie to take down his own daughter, as his desire for revenge was greater than any lingering loyalty to his family.
Torbjørn
Kåre Conradi plays Torbjørn, Julie’s husband who enjoys the wealth and luxury that comes from his wife’s success, but he keeps his distance from the business side of things. While he occasionally offers suggestions to Julie, he avoids getting directly involved in her work, content with his role as a stay-at-home husband. He’s also a devoted father to their two children—Hennie and JJ, so focused more on family life than the corporate world.
Hennie
Hennie is Julie’s younger daughter, who starts off as a classic “mama’s girl,” who is loyal to her mother, and enjoys the privileges that come with it. She looked up to Julie, who showered her with gifts, like private helicopters, boats, and lavish parties. However, as the story goes on, Hennie starts to see her mother in a different light, when she realizes that Julie’s ruthless ambition is not only hurting people but also putting at risk the jobs of many workers—including the father of her boyfriend, Jakob, hence naturally, Hennie begins to have doubts. The final blow comes when Hennie’s favorite K-pop idol leaves his band due to bad press from performing at her baptism, which was tied to Julie’s questionable environmental practices. She saw how her mother was being bashed down in social media and Hennie felt betrayed by the mother she once idolized. That’s why she eventually sides with her sister, Amy, in going against Julie and helps Amy expose Julie’s harmful synergy plans in front of the board to vote against her mother and stop the workers from being fired.
JJ
Vetle Røsten Granås plays Jens Johan, or JJ, who initially dreams of being an actor. However, he doesn’t seem to get any success with his passion, as his performance has never been up to the mark. When one of his big roles gets cut from a director’s cut, JJ is so embarrassed that he cancels the premiere and makes up an excuse about a fire issue in the building, because JJ couldn’t face the shame of telling his family about his failure. Realizing that his acting career isn’t going anywhere, JJ finally gives up on his dream and decides to join the family business instead. This decision makes his mother, Julie, extremely happy, as she’s always wanted him to be part of the business world.
Amy
Ragne Grande plays Amy who starts off as someone who looks up to her mother, Julie. But by the end, Amy proves she’s more than capable of outsmarting even her biggest rival—Julie. Why? Because Julie had promised Amy the chairperson role in Marlax and gave her hope for a bigger position within the company. However, when Julie betrayed Amy, Amy decided to take matters into her own hands. Thus, Amy teamed up with Viljar Meloy and even Gjert, Julie’s long-time rival, and later outmaneuvered Julie by leaking the synergy plan, which exposed how Julie’s business would harm workers, and in doing so gained the necessary votes to take her mother down. In the end, Amy became the CEO of Meyer-Fjordbruk and proved she could not only stand up to her mother but defeat her at her own game. On the personal side, even though Amy cheated on her husband, Martin, with her assistant and got pregnant, she managed to calm the situation down. Martin, played by Oddgeir Thune, was devastated when he found out because he couldn’t have children himself, but eventually agreed to raise the child with Amy. She promised to end her relationship with her assistant to try to make things right at home. However, we can be sure that Amy’s victory won’t last long, as Julie wont back down easily, and this power struggle is far from over
Trine and Eigil
Hanne Skille Reitan plays Trine, Gjert’s daughter, and Tor Ivar Hagen plays Eigil, her husband, in Billionaire Island. At first, both Trine and Eigil seemed like they were on Gjert’s side, as they wanted to protect his legacy by causing the escape of a large number of salmon under Julie’s Marlax company, in the hope that this would show the world that their father was the better businessman. Their plan wasn’t only to help Gjert’s reputation but also to gain power within the company themselves. But things took a sharp turn when Trine and Eigil discovered that Gjert had shaken hands with Amy, Julie’s daughter, and betrayed them. Feeling hurt and betrayed, they decided to get back at him, so Trine and Eigil framed Gjert for environmental damage by planting documents on his computer, which led to his arrest. This was a calculated move to not only take revenge but also to seize control of the company. After sending Gjert to jail, Trine and Eigil teamed up with Amy to secure Trine a seat on the board and make Eigil the new chairperson of Meyer-Fjordbruk. In the end, their loyalty to Gjert was just a stepping stone to achieve their own ambitions, and they were willing to do whatever it took to gain power, which they did achieve in the end.
